Write the following expression in its most factored form: $4x-16$
To factor a polynomial, you should first try to find the greatest common factor of all the terms. The factors of $4x$ are $1$ $2$ $4$ , and $x$ and the factors of $-16$ are $1$ $2$ $4$ $8$ , and $16$ The greatest common factor of $4x$ and $-16$ is $4$ We can factor out the $4$ and put it before the parenthesis. If we divide each of the terms in the original expression by $4$ we get $\dfrac{4x}{4} = x$ and $\dfrac{-16}{4} = -4$ So the factored expression is $4(x - 4)$.